Fresh from a practice session and eager to play again, Tiger Woods said Tuesday he feels better than he has in a long time ahead of his return this week from a three-month injury layoff. The former world No. 1, speaking to reporters ahead of this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, said the left leg pain that kept him out of tournament golf since May is behind him. “I don't feel a thing. It feels solid, it feels stable, no pain,” Woods said after playing nine holes at Firestone, where he is a seven-time winner, without a noticeable limp. Woods has not competed since he withdrew from the Players Championship in May after completing just nine holes and the 35-year-old American said he is excited to make his return to the game he once dominated. Woods gave no timetable on when he will name a full-time replacement for former caddie Steve Williams but said Tuesday there have been no shortage of applicants. Woods will use childhood friend Bryon Bell as his interim caddie at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and most likely at next week's PGA Championship before naming a replacement. The 14-time major champion will try to get back into the swing of things this week at Firestone, then play next week at the PGA Championship in Atlanta. He also hopes to qualify for the season-ending playoffs for the FedEx Cup and has signed up to play the Australian Open in Sydney in November.
